Wednesday, December 10, 2008

I can't believe it's been almost a month since I last posted here. I have to admit, I've gotten on the Facebook bandwagon and all but forgot about my blog, I'm so ashamed! We had a wonderful Thanksgiving...it was a bit disjointed since we did Thanksgiving with both families in the same day--WHEW! I don't think I'll do that one again! But we had a good time nevertheless. We were at Grandma and Papa's house for almost a week and really enjoyed gorgeous weather and good company. The night before Thanksgiving, I was in the kitchen getting some stuff prepped for the next day and I looked out the window and MY BROTHER was standing outside, looking in! I was SHOCKED! He wasn't going to come up and was the LAST person I'd expect to see looking in at me through the window. He's lucky he didn't give me a heart attack! So we were all super thrilled to see him and be able to spend time with him. He's back to work full time with the Coast Guard and has also started seminary this year. He's BUSY to say the least, so we really don't get to see him as much as we would like.

I recently designed a website for a friend of mine http://www.thkconstruction.com and made a little money--so I bought something I've been wanting for a VERY long time, a dslr camera. I'm in LOVE!! I have become totally obsessed with photography and am really enjoying learning more each day. My girls have been wonderful modeling for me, Luke is another story...every time I get the camera on him, he turns his back on me...little stinker!

Our weather has been absolutely gorgeous. I really wish we didn't need rain, because if it could be like this all year round, I'd be all for it! Let's see, what else. I don't know that there is a whole lot more to report. That's always the way it happens when I try to summarize an entire month in one post...I forget all of the cute and pithy details. I'll try to be better in the future!

Saturday, November 15, 2008

Friday, November 14, 2008

I've had the privilege of holding a few little babies lately...and OH are they SWEET!!Last weekend we went to Roseville to meet TJ and Charissa's new baby boy, Ian (TJ and Charissa are Jeremy's cousin and husband). He is such a cute, sweet little guy. I have to admit, ever since I had Luke, I'm kinda into baby boys...they're pretty precious! We had a wonderful visit, even if I did "hog" Ian all day long. He liked me, what can I say?? :)

Today my neighbor brought her baby over and I got to hold him for a while (after I pried him out of Savannah and Abby's arms!) I held him for less than 5 minutes and had him asleep. Either it's been sheer coincidence, or I've got a touch with babies. It could be that after 3, I'm fairly confident in my abilities and they just pick up on that. Anyway...these little ones are SO sweet and really, really make me want another babe--especially another little boy for Luke. But alas, I will NOT let them convince me with their sweet baby wiles...I know how they work...they're much more work than their sweet little angelic faces let on. For now I'll just enjoy holding these wee ones as much as I can. And I promise to share too, when necessary.

Savannah holding our neighbors baby, Antonio.

He was actually falling asleep in her arms. Awwwhhh...look at the look on her face.

Saturday, November 1, 2008

We are extremely blessed. We have a playground right in our backyard. We have the perfect location because I can let the children play while I fold laundry or do whatever I need to do and I can see them perfectly well from my dining room window.

The playground that WAS in there was very archaic though. It had these BIG, concrete "climbing" things...very dangerous. It also had a big climbing dome (I remember having to climb into there while I was HUGELY pregnant with Luke because Abby was hanging and was scared to let go...that was fun) and swings. The swings were nice, but the rest was old and not too safe. Not to mention that it was all sand, and every cat in the neighborhood used it as a big litter box--lots of fun when you think of all of the babies that sit there and eat sand. Yes, the sand was fun to play with, but it was also horrible for trying to keep my house clean, especially in the wet season.

So they finally yanked all of the old stuff out and just finished on Wednesday with all of the new stuff. The new swings leave a lot to be desired, but the play structure itself is awesome!! We're very blessed.

Luke is a TOTAL ham. He loves the camera and the camera loves him. He is also our first child who will very willingly go to Jeremy, even when he's just gotten up from a nap. It's very refreshing, and very sweet. Usually Jeremy gets home from work at 4, rests for a while and we get Luke up around 4:45. I'll get Luke up and put him on Jeremy's lap for a little father/son snuggle time. The other day, Jeremy was lying on the sofa when I got Luke up and I put Luke with him. He got all snuggly with Jeremy and was rubbing his leg against Jeremy's skin and saying, "Dada". It was so sweet and precious. I went to get my camera because it was so sweet...and when I came back, he wasn't on Jeremy's lap anymore. I was a bit bummed, but as soon as he saw the camera, and realized I wanted to capture the moment, he jumped back up onto Jeremy's lap, got back into position and let me take a couple of photos...and a video. What a show off...but in times like these, I'm grateful!

We had lots of fun last. We trick or treated right around our house and then headed to the church for the annual Fall Carnival. There were lots of games, lots of candy and lots of excitement. Everyone had a wonderful time and I'm very thankful we had our entire entourage (My parents and myself) because there was lots of stuff to carry.Luke was happy with a lolly-pop in his mouth the entire time...and spent lots of time and energy running and spinning like a little munchkin hopped up on sugar should. I was pretty excited because we got the girls costumes on clearance and Luke's came from an old neighbor. How nice that it fit perfectly this year! :)

Saturday, October 25, 2008

We had Abby's birthday party last night (on Jeremy's actual birthday). We had a TON of people here. We gave invitations to all of the kids our children play with regularly...add in all of the parents and WOW! We had probably 50 people here! I bought hot dogs at Costco and we barely had enough (actually Jeremy and I didn't get to eat!). We did a pinata and yummy chocolate cake. It got dark way too early though and we ended up opening presents and eating cake in the dark, but I think everyone had fun anyway. Abby loved her gifts too.

On her actual birthday I took them for a "surprise". Next time I'll know not to do any "surprises" because it gets their imaginations going a bit too much, so when Savannah was expecting a trip to Discovery Kingdom, they were greatly disappointed when we got to the cupcake shop. I tell ya, they were totally unenthusiastic. Granted they hadn't been feeling their best, and the trip is about a half hour...but we got cupcakes, got a few cute photos and went on to the toy store where we really had fun. I bought two gifts, one for her birthday, one for Christmas. After they had been wrapped (without her knowing), I let her pick which one she wanted. She ended up choosing the Play Mobil farm and ever since that thing was opened and assembled, they haven't stopped playing with it. Play Mobil is quite pricey and I wasn't too sure about paying that much money for a gift, but now that I see how much they love it, I'm definitely getting more for Christmas!!

The night of her birthday she had AWANA and got to be the special helper who picked the ticket for the prize. She picked Savannah! :)So all in all she had a great birthday...and she's thrilled to be 5!

Savannah and Abby got wings the other day at the toy store. One time they put them on Luke and he wasn't too thrilled, but tonight he brought them to Jeremy and asked to have them put on. I got him on video trying to fly.

Luke has amazing, beautiful, golden curls. They're especially wonderful when he's just woken up from a nap. I know the time will come in the not too distant future when we're going to have to give him his first hair cut. I'm not looking forward to it. I don't want him to lose his curls, and I don't want him to look like a big boy. Right now he just looks like the little cherub he is.

Tuesday, October 21, 2008

It's really late and I need to be in bed...Tomorrow is a very special day: Abby turns 5!!But before I turn in, I had to make a note of this. Today Abby was being disciplined for being aggressive to Savannah. This is a recurring problem. She's always been a biter, hitter, pincher, scratcher, etc. She has some self-control issues that I've really been praying about and I'd appreciate if you'd pray about also. Sometimes it's very difficult being a mommy...I don't know how to do this! Anyway, I was disciplining her and she started crying and said, "I'm waiting for God to change my heart.". It was so sweet it nearly broke my heart. Boy have I felt that way some times! I explained to her that God is not a fairy god-mother who waves a magic wand and everything is perfect...it takes effort on OUR part for our hearts to change. I don't know if it sunk in...but it was precious to have that opportunity to talk with her. I too am waiting for her heart to change. She is such a precious, dear little one, but she is by far my most challenging child--by a long shot.

So Jeremy and I had a very good time up in Tahoe. The weather was pretty chilly, so we stayed indoors most of the time, which was okay because it was cozy and nice to just relax...and there was TV, which we're not used to. We got all caught up on the political nonsense...yet another reminder why I'm happy to not have television! It's just too depressing watching that stuff! We visited my old community college and saw all of the changes it's undergone--it has grown a LOT since I was there like 12-13 years ago. Man how time flies!! We had some wonderful food out, watched a movie, An American Carol, went to Starbucks a few times. All in all it was nice and relaxing...especially the jacuzzi tub! Ahhhh....

The kids all did well too. Luke was a bit overwrought with being busy with Grandma and Papa. He didn't get his normal nap every day like he's used to, but he was a good sport about it. Savannah lost ANOTHER tooth while we were up there too. Now she doesn't have any more loose ones so we should be good for a while! It was nice to know that Luke was fine without me there. What a relief...and an open door for hopefully more time with my husband in the future! YAY! Not that we'll get away again any time soon, but it's good to know that it's a possibility.

My parents took the kids to Apple Hill and my dad got lots of photos, but I haven't gotten them from him, so I don't have any to post. I do, however, have some photos from the pumpkin patch/dairy farm we visited the other day. We got to sample cheese and butter (Jersey Cow chesse and butter!), go on a hay ride, go through a hay maze and get this: MILK A COW!! How fun! The girls really enjoyed it! We picked out a couple of pumpkins too. It was a fun day. I went with some homeschooling friends of mine and it was really funny because while we were there, one of the local Christian Schools in this area was there too--so I saw a bunch of people I know there (weird because this place isn't particularly close to my house), and later I saw a neighbor of mine there too.

I guess that's enough updating for now. Abby is so excited that her birthday is the day after tomorrow. She can barely contain herself. I told her I'd take her to a big toy store in Petaluma on her birthday and let her pick something out. She's also got a ton of money she's been saving from allowance and what she got for her birthday so far (Thank you Great-Grandma and Grandpa McEfee and Great-Grandma and Grandpa Troyer). Money is sure to please these days! :)

So here are some photos from the dairy farm and also of Abby today, all dressed up and ready to be "5"!!

Friday, October 10, 2008

The weekend is officially here and tomorrow we leave to begin our weekend away! We're actually leaving on our own on Sunday and returning on Tuesday, but tomorrow we go to my parents house and that's always a little mini vacation because it's a change of pace...even if that 2.5 hour drive drives us all a bit crazy!! It's always so fun to arrive! Keep us in your prayers for safe travels...and for the mommy/baby separation thing...that's always tough, but by God's grace we'll all be the better for it!

Tuesday, October 7, 2008

Grandma Troyer (Jonathan's Mother) sent us a fun recipe with our Anniversary Card this year and I just had to try it with the kids. I had each of the girls make one and then we shared them. They're for Mug Cakes:1 coffee mug4 tbsp. flour4 tbsp. sugar2 tbsp. baking cocoa1 egg3 tbsp. milk3 tbsp. oil3 tbsp. choc. chips (optional)splash vanilla (optional)

Combine dry ingredients in mug, add egg and stir. Add the rest of ingredients and stir well. Stir in choc. chips if desired. Microwave on High for 3 minutes. This was our favorite part: "THE CAKE WILL RISE OVER THE TOP OF THE MUG, BUT DON'T BE ALARMED!". Savannah was very alarmed until I read that to her! It does sink when the microwave turns off. It was a very fun experience and we all enjoyed these cakes! YUM!!

It's a good thing the Tooth Fairy isn't affected by our soft economy, otherwise Savannah would have made her bankrupt! We still have one more tooth that is ready. Savannah was going to pull it out as well, but decided that it had a good day or two left.

Monday, October 6, 2008

I just wanted all of my devoted readers to know, it's very simple for you to be able to comment on any of the posts I write--and it's VERY fun for me to read comments from you. All you have to do is register for an account with google. There is nothing you need to sign up with or anything, just register and get a username/password. Then you can comment on ANYTHING I write! Really, it's very easy and very fun...so please sign up now...and no, google does not give me anything for saying this!! Hahaha!!

About Me

I'm a homeschooling mommy to my 7 beautiful children. I'm my husbands wife and proud of it. I stay home, take care of my husband, children and home and am COMPLETELY fulfilled as a woman in this uber-domestic life I live. I try each day to follow God's calling and I fail each day. Praise God for His grace and His love...because of that I look forward EVERY day to a new adventure and new blessing. My family is my greatest ministry and each day I pray I do my best.